This blog is dedicated to all the gorditos, chubbies, huskies, bears, afrentados and foodies that love to eat delicious food and can't wait to hear where they should go next to get their grub on! I'm going to give you the 411 on all the places I love to frequent and all the places I seek out, like the culinary explorer that I am. I'm going to be real and tell what I feel and think. Bring on the comments and most importantly bring on the FOOD!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

The Grange: A delicious trip down memory lane!

As I entered the restaurant, I couldn’t help, but feel
nostalgic. As a child, I walked into this space more times than I could
remember to buy sandwiches for my Catholic school field trips. Back then,
it wasn’t The Grange Bar and Eatery, it was a Blimpie’s. Long gone are
the heroes and potato chips! They’ve been replaced with organic meats, Multigrain breads and bean sprouts; as Bob Dylan once said, “The times they
are a’changin’!”

In the 1980s, my section of Harlem (now more commonly
referred to as Hamilton Heights) was full of "mom’n’pop" restaurants and small
businesses. These days, gentrification
and urban renewal have taken away some of the local fare and substituted it
with small cafes, gourmet delis and trendy restaurants. The Grange Bar and Eatery is one of these
new up-and-coming eateries.

The Grange is a moderately sized restaurant with wooden
tables, exposed brick walls, and a coffee bar. The decor is modern, the
ambiance is festive, and the clientele is a mixture of neighborhood locals and
City College students and faculty. I love The Grange’s huge windows, which
face Amsterdam Avenue and allow you to people watch as you dine.

As my server handed me the menu, she noticed I was staring
out the window and asked me if I was waiting for someone; I replied, “I’m just
enjoying the view of my old neighborhood.” She said, “Well, welcome back
home! I hope you have a good visit back!” The Grange’s servers are
always friendly and courteous. I’ve had several wonderful conversations
with other servers on previous occasions; someone there knows how to hire
excellent wait staff!

As I looked out the window, I saw an old neighbor of mine
walking past the window with a coffee cup in his hand, it was from Café One on
the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and W140th. A few doors down from The Grange,
Café One is a trendy spot for City College students to read, write papers, and
congregate. What they don’t know is that before these kids had their
little cliché café, it was my neighborhood bicycle shop.

When I was ten years old, my father bought my first and
only bicycle there. I loved that bike; it let me explore my neighborhood
and was the only exercise I enjoyed. He
was proud of me for learning to ride without training wheels. I racked my
brains trying to remember what happened to it, but I couldn’t remember.

Hunger brought me out of my nostalgia, so I reviewed the
dinner menu, which is divided into four sections: Fromiage and Charcuterie
(Cheese and Sliced cured meats), Appetizers, Salads, and Entrees. Check out the
Grange’s menu at: http://thegrangebarnyc.com/#!/menu/dinner/

Curious to sample the Fish Tacos, Lamb Sliders and the
Grilled Cheese sandwich, I
asked my server which of these appetizers was the most popular and she replied
it was a tie between the Fish tacos and Grilled Cheese. As much as I love
grilled cheese, the description of the Fish tacos(Tempura battered cod, capered
tartare sauce, cabbage, pickled radish and avocado) won me over.

Thinking about the grilled cheese sandwich reminded me of the diner next to my father’s old bodega.
It was owned by a friendly Greek family, which we affectionately referred to as
“Los Griegos” (The Greeks in Spanish), who served typical diner fare with
classic Greek dishes like Mousaka and Spanakopita. Growing up, I ate their grilled cheese sandwiches with onions
rings all the time. Unfortunately, the
diner closed 2 years ago and was replaced by an Italian restaurant called
Coccola, which has become popular with the same crowd that frequents The Grange.

The
amazing smell of my fish tacos snapped me back to the present. The
tempura battered cod was soft, flaky and flavorful. The cabbage was
crunchy and fresh; the sweet avocado balanced the delightfully briny taste of
the pickled radish. The creamy and rich Capered Tartare sauce added a
wonderful tangy flavor to the dish. The appetizer was superb and told my server that if they added one more taco to the plate and maybe some pico de gallo, they could serve it as an entree.

Curious
to try a new entree, I ordered the Spinach Ravioli (Baby Spinach & Ricotta
Ravioli in a Meyer Lemon Poppy-seed Buerre Fondue with shaved carrots and
rainbow micro-greens) instead of my standard Roast Chicken or Black Bean Burger
(both are also amazing).

As I
waited for my entree, I heard a few City College students talking about a new
Indian restaurant opening up two blocks away.
Instantly, I remembered that the Auto-parts store under my mother’s apartment
building had closed and that a banner hung on the awning advertising the
opening of an Indian restaurant. The
Auto-parts store had been there for decades; the owner was one of my father’s
friends. I loved the dirty jokes
and other inappropriate subject matter I learned from the mechanics that hung out in
front of the shop. I guess the spicy
language will be replaced by spicy curry and tandoori.

Before
too long, my entree arrived; the moist ravioli had an amazing rich and creamy ricotta filling.
The Lemon poppy-seed fondue sauce gave the dish an enjoyable acidic and
savory flavor. The crunchy rainbow
greens and shaved carrots imparted a refreshing sweetness and slight bitterness
that perfectly complimented the meal.
The combination of flavors and textures was excellent and well balanced; the genius of this dish was its simplicity.

Businesses in Harlem will always come and go, but my memories of the old eateries and small businesses that gave it character will
always be with me. Despite these changes, Harlem remains an incredible place to dine. Go make
some memories for yourself at The Grange.
Don’t take my word for it, go taste for yourself! Buen provecho!

Why was I smiling?

Who is Ben The Pen Ramos?

I'm a cute, husky, Boricua lover of food and liberation. I educate, organize and moblize for various revolutionary causes in between having meals at, what I think are, some of the best restaurants, cafes, bars, cuchifritos, chimichurri trucks, and taquerias in the city.
I have never studied culinary arts/sciences; I am not a professional critic, nor do I have one of those super sensitive palettes that can divine every ingredient and spice in a meal.
My only qualification is that I am a fat ass that loves to eat food and share his opinion.
I watch alot of cooking shows on PBS, have watched every episode of Top Chef on the Bravo Channel and walk around the city aimlessly until I spot a restaurant that looks good!
I cannot cook to save my life, but I can eat with the best of them! Enjoy my blog!

Sofrito In My Soul

Sofrito in my soul, because I was lucky enough to be raised on delicious home made Puerto Rican criolla (typical food).

I learned to love food in my Mami's cocina (kitchen). I learned to appreciate the sacred, mystical, and transformative art of cooking and, most importantly, reveled in the epic journey that is eating and tasting!

Sofrito was the building block of every meal Mami masterfully crafted in her Five star Kitchen. Sofrito is a fragrant sauce and wet seasoning comprised of onions, garlic, pepper (either small sweet red peppers or green bell peppers), oregano, cumin, bay leaf, oil, and culantro puréed together in a blender.

A blend of African, Taino and Spanish culture all in one delicious green potion that provides the incredible explosion of flavor in every bite of Puerto Rican food. Whether it is used to marinade proteins, added to soup or stew stocks, or to flavor a caldero (pot) of beans, Sofrito is that little bit of Puerto Rican pride we add to all of our dishes.Sofrito in my soul, because through food, I travel the world, but despite however far I go, I always come back to my Mami's kitchen in Harlem; our little piece of Puerto Rico on W139th Street!